Tourism Asia

Vol. 07 | No: 11. November 2011

- Jaisalmer -Desert Festival

- Jaisalmer -Desert Festival

CAMBODIA

CHINA

HOLYLAND TOURS

HONG KONG

INDIA

JAPAN

KENYA

MACAU

MALAYSIA

MALDIVES

MAURITIUS

PHILIPPINES

SINGAPORE

SRI LANKA

THAILAND

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

UNITED KINGDOM

U.S.A

VIETNAM

COMBO TOURS

Start Date : 05-Feb-2012End Date : 07-Feb-2012Venue : Jaisalmer, RajasthanCity : JaisalmerCountry : IndiaState : Rajasthan

DESERT FESTIVAL JAISALMER

3Tourism Asia | November 2011

contents november

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In August, visitor arrivals from mainland China grew by 23% year-on-year to exceed 2.91 million, making it the highest-ever mainland arrival figure for a single month.

Hong Kong achieves record visitor arrivals10

In -timate, stylishly decorated 5-suite heritage guest-house located on a quiet road in the backstreets of Dhaka’s Gulshan neighbourhood, where most of the foreign embassies and development agencies have ...

Ideas Manzil, Dhaka, Bangladesh

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08

10

Full Suite of Online Products Offered, Including Revamped Website and Digital Version of Publication

TTG China Launches Travel Indus-try Breaking News Service for the Greater China Region Property of the month

10

International visitor arrivals to the Asia Pacific region increased 6% year-on-year in August 2011, according to the latest data from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). The growth rate marks a slight slow-down compared to the 7% increase seen in July 2011, but South and Southeast Asia continued to demonstrate strong double-digit growth.

Asia Pacific visitor arrivals rise again

4

contents november

22

“To become the recipient of a regional World Travel Award is indeed recognition of our staffs dedication to service and of Dusit Thani Bangkok which continues to remain a preferred hotel in Asia” - Alex Willats

World Travel Awards Celebrates Success of Asian Tourism in Bangkok

24

Nishorgo Nirob Eco-Cottage26

Ha Long Bay’s World Wonder bid receives a boost16

Malaysia's first luxury wellness retreat, The Banjaran is slated to open its doors at historic Tambun, Perak.

China, India hold key to travel industry growth

12

Tourism Asia | November 2011

The UNWTO has joined with eight of the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to assess their tourism development needs.

UN helps boost tourism in least devel-oped countries

14

Managing EditorGroup EditorExecutive EditorPhoto EditorArt EditorSenior CorrespondentSenior Sub EditorEditorial Team

MarketingLegal AdvisorFinancial Controller

From the editor’s desk

All communications to:Tourism AsiaGround Floor, ‘Tower House’, Convent RoadThiruvananthapuram, Kerala, IndiaPhone: +91 471 2470660, Fax: +91 471 2470660Email: [email protected]: www.tourismasiaonline.info

Regd Office:‘Sreeji Nivas’ ,Peroorkada, Thiruvananthapuram

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Edited and Published by:Sreekumara Menon

The news and Advertisements published herein have been collected from

various source, which are considered to be reliable. Readers are however

requested to verify the facts before making business decisions using the same.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission from the

publisher. All rights reserved. Copyright 2010

soil and the sky of India.

India is the land of gods and diverse religions where lies the serenity of its heritage. India is dotted with pilgrimages. Great religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism have originated on the Indian soil. Over 80% of India's population practices Hinduism, the ancient indigenous religion of India which has a wide variety of forms and expressions. Muslims constitute about 10% of the Indian population. Other significant religious groups in India include Jains, and Christians. Buddhism is almost extinct in the land of its birth, but many exiled Tibetan Buddhists now make their home in India, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. India's famed spirituality has made it a popular destination for spiritually-inclined travelers..

There are a number of Tour operators in the country that offer various pilgrimage tour packages to tourists. These operators also arrange for the stay, the food and other comforts for the pilgrimage. Any pilgrimage tour in India is sure to make you feel elated. These pilgrimage tours are sure to provide the tour-ists with peace and tranquility.

Pilgrimage tourism as a business has also become big in India in the recent times. There is no denying to the fact that Indians are religious and religion is a part of their life. The boom in the travel industry has helped tourists to visit these pilgrimage spots often. A lot of people from across different parts of the world are being attracted to India for its pilgrimage destina-tions.

V.Sreekumara MenonEditor & Publisher

[email protected]+91 9447798108

India is probably the ultimate destination of all kinds of pilgrims following any faith around the world. The great religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Christi-anity and Sikhism are the integral part of Indian culture and heritage whose values and faiths are mingled with the air,

5

: Sreekumara Menon

: Janeesh Jalaluddin

: Kriebel George

: Madhu Menon

: Dileep

: Subhash Ghosh

: Anish Kumar

: Anu S

: Viji V S

: Suresh Kumar S

: Adv. Preeja K S

: Abhilash S P

Representatives

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North IndiaEast IndiaWest IndiaBahrain BangaloreBhubaneshwarChennai DubaiNew DelhiPhilippinesPuneQatarSingaporeSrilanka Thailand


DESERT FESTIVALJAISALMER

News & Events

Start Date : 05-Feb-2012 End Date : 07-Feb-2012

Venue : Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

City : Jaisalmer Country : India

State : Rajasthan

The Desert Festival is an annual event organized in the beautiful city, Jaisalmer. This three days festival is held in the month of February. It is organized in association with the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation, Jaisalmer. Desert Festival represents the rich and colourful Rajasthani folk culture and concludes on the day of Poornima.

During the festival, the desert folks sing and dance eloquently to the triumphs and the tragedies of the land. Other major celebrations of the Desert Festival of Rajasthan include the tradi-tional gymnasts, mystical snake charm-ers, entertaining puppet shows and captivating folk music recitals. The desert festival is also a musical extrava-ganza where musicians and the

Organizer Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation, Jaipur, India

renowned artists partici-pate. Along with this, a number of competitions are held in the festival like the turban tying competition, longest moustaches competi-tion, etc. Even the camels take part in a number of events, including camel polo and camel dance. Not only the Jaisalmer fort but the whole Jaisalmer city brims with excite-ment during the Desert Festival.


www.keralatrips.inexper ience kera la w i th our exper ience

CHALUKYA GRACE TOURS PVT. LTD.(Recognised by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India)

Tower House, Convent Road,Thiruvananthapuram 695001, Kerala, India.

Phone: +91 9349336702, +91 471 2470660Email: [email protected]

www.keralatrips.in

23Hotline: +91 9447798108, +91 9847771229

Honeymoon Packages Luxury Packages

Family Holidays Standard Packages

Full Suite of Online Products Offered, Including Revamped Website and Digital Version of Publi-cation

Tourism Asia | December 2010 8

HONG KONG, October 27, 2011 - TTG Asia Media has launched TTG China e-Daily, a free daily breaking-news e-mail service for travel professionals in the Greater China region. The Chinese-language e-mail service allows travel professionals to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the travel, hotel, airline, and transportation industries. Published by the editorial team behind TTG China, the first travel agent newspa-per for Chinese-speaking industry professionals in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, the TTG China e-Daily will be sent to over 30,000 travel profes-sionals throughout the Greater China region free-of-charge, daily, from Monday to Friday. Each e-mail will provide short summaries of the breaking travel news stories of the day, with links to the www.ttgchina.com website for subscribers to read the stories in-full.Chinese-speaking travel professionals are invited to subscribe to the TTG China e-Daily at www.ttgchina.com. A contest that rewards one lucky TTG China e-Daily subscriber every month from November 2011 till February 2012 is also underway. Prizes include 2-night stays at the follow-ing Hong Kong-based hotels: Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui, Hotel ICON, Le Meridien Cyberport and The Mira.

To complement the launch of the TTG China e-Daily, TTG Asia Media has revamped the TTG China website (www.ttgchina.com) to serve as the one-stop Chinese-language travel trade news destination online. The TTG China web-site includes business relevant sections such as:

• VIEWPOINT: Professional viewpoints from the industry/s leading managers provide incisive analysis on the travel industry/s developments, market situa-tions and future trends. • TOURISM DATA: Statistics linked to the development and research of the tourism industry serve as a useful reference for R&D and strategy-development for professionals in all fields. • AGENT TALK: An online exchange of ideas on hot topics offers a platform for

communication and exchange within the industry.• CASE STUDY: Useful summaries and analyses of the benefits gained and chal-lenges faced in staging industry events and both large and small-scale exhibi-tions. • TOP STORIES: The tourism industry’s

latest news allows industry personnel to keep abreast of market conditions and development opportunities. • HOT MOVES AND HOT JOBS: The latest personnel changes and top positions within the tourism industry ensure travel professionals don't miss out on any career opportunities. • HOT DEALS: Industry suppliers offer special promotions and packages exclu-sively for travel professionals

TTG China Launches Travel Industry Breaking News Service for the Greater China Region

News & Events

About TTG ChinaDarren Ng, managing director of TTG Asia Media, said: ITTG China e-Daily and the revamped TTG China website offer travel professionals in the Greater China region the relevant information they need to make key business decisions both domestically and abroad." The travel industry can now enjoy timely and reliable travel updates on a daily basis from the most sought¬ after Chinese-language travel news title in the region." From November, existing and new read-ers of the monthly TTG China print publi-cation can access the magazine on-the-go with TTG China DIGITAL. This elec-tronic flip-book version of the print edition will be accessible on online, desk-top and mobile platforms.

Launched in 1998, TTG China is the most established travel agent news paper for Chinese speaking industry professionals in China, Hong Kong,Taiwan and Macau. This leading business resource for dedi-cated news and reports on the Chinese travel industry, reaches out to a loyal readership base of more than 13,000 monthly. The TTG China online products (www.ttgchina.com, TTG China e-Daily and TTG China DIGITAL) complement its monthly print publication, delivering the latest updates on the Chinese travel trade 24/7. Visit www .ttgchina.com for more infor-mation.

About TTG Asia Media TTG Asia Media Pte Ltd is the leading publisher and organizer of events in travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region. Its publications and trade shows provide the best access and solutions to marketing travel and tourism in Asia-Pacific. Visit www .ttgasiamedia.com for more information.

News & Events

10 Tourism Asia | November 2011

historic high of 3.8 million arrivals in July, this is the second month in a row that arrivals set a new monthly record.

“Overall, during the summer period from June to August, we welcomed a total of 10,940,371 arrivals, 18.8% more than the corresponding period last year. Both mainland China and Southeast Asia achieved outstanding performance, mainly because of the favourable economic climate and appreciation of currencies in these markets. In addition, the local travel trade also proactively launched timely promotions to make the best of the business opportunities arising from the peak travel season.

In August, visitor arrivals from mainland China grew by 23% year-on-year to exceed 2.91 million, making it the highest-ever mainland arrival figure for a single month.Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong exceeded four million for the first time in August, setting a new monthly record for the city. The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced that arrivals in August reached 4.07 million, a year-on-year growth of 17.7%. In the first eight months of 2011, arrivals amounted to 27.24 million - a 16.2% increase compared to the same period last year.

Commenting on the new single-month record, HKTB Chairman, James Tien said; “We are encouraged by the tourism performance in August. Summer has always been a peak season for travel among short-haul visitors. Following a

News & Views

Hong Kong achieves record visitor arrivals

News & Events

China, Indiahold key to travel industry growth

dramatically. Each state or province has GDP power equivalent to whole nations,” Koldowski said.Adding fuel to the statistical fire, Surekha Poddar, Executive Director of Consumer Research for Nielsen India, noted the growing affluence and confidence among Indian consumers. Citing data from a recent Nielsen survey, Ms Poddar revealed that India now ranks number one in global consumer confidence indices, with a rating of 126 compared to the global 89. In terms of spending priorities, travel now ranks second among Indian consumers at 34%, com-pared to the global average of 32%. Most notably, only 7% of Indian consumers now claim to have “no spare cash”, com-pared to the global 16%. In China this figure is even more impressive, with only

3% of consumers claiming to have no disposable income.The online sector was clearly a strong driving force behind the rise in travel among Indian and Chinese consumers. In India, while 60% of travellers still get their information from their local travel agent, 57% also now use an internet search engine and 45% use an online travel agent (OTA). While agent bookings have also increased, bookings via OTAs have seen a larger growth in percentage terms. In China, it is notable that while the majority of travellers research their travel plans online, the majority still return to their travel agent to book their trip.

The online theme was continued by Jens Thraenhart, President and co-founder of China-based Dragon Trail, who noted that companies and destinations need to target Chinese social media sites and develop multi-media strategies in order to gain a greater share of Chinese travel-lers. While social media is a global trend, Thraenhart said it was especially preva-lent in China, where affluent consumers are on average 20 years younger than those in the western world.

China and India will account for more than 150 million outbound tourists by 2020, and the travel trade needs to target these markets effectively if they are to fully capitalise on the huge opportunity. This was the key message of the ‘Get Insights, Build Your Business’ workshop held yesterday at the PATA Travel Mart 2011 in New Delhi. John Koldowski (pictured), Director of PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre, led the session, citing data confirming how the two markets are already burgeoning. According to Koldowski, the number of Indian (+12.9%) and Chinese (+18.1%) visitors to Asia Pacific destinations both experienced double-digit growth in the first half of 2011. This far exceeded the overall 5% rise in arrivals to Asia Pacific in the same period. China’s outbound growth was especially apparent in South and Southeast Asia, at 58.0% and 44.2% respectively. Indian arrivals to neighbour-ing South Asian nations jumped 47.5%.He warned however, that tourism opera-tors and destinations wanting to target China and Indian tourists need to realise the regional differences within these countries.“No way can you consider India and China as homogenous markets; they differ



News & Events

UN helps boost tourism in least de-veloped countries

tourism expenditure generates addi-tional flows of revenue and consump-tion for other branches of the economy such as agriculture, local fisheries, handicrafts and the furniture and construction industries.”

The UNWTO has joined with eight of the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to assess their tourism develop-ment needs. The UN Steering Commit-tee on Tourism for Development (SCTD), held in Switzerland, joined with tourism, finance and trade ministries from Benin, Burundi, Cambodia, Comoros, Lesotho, Maldives, Sao Tome and Principe and Uganda, to learn how to better work together to maximise the countries’ tourism potential and identify funding sources.

“Tourism is one of the few economic sectors through which LDCs have man-aged to increase their participation in the global economy,” said UNWTO Executive Director, Márcio Favilla. “The multiplier effect of tourism is also particularly effective in the LDCs, where

International tourist arrivals in the world’s 48 LDCs grew from six million in 2000 to more than 17 million in 2010, while inter-national tourism receipts climbed from US$3 billion to in excess of US$10 billion.

The UN workshop, organised with the support of the Secretariat of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) - a programme specifically designed for LDCs

- allowed the countries to learn more about how to best access the EIF mecha-nism to develop their tourism strategies and action plans, as well as leveraging human and financial resources.

It is now expected that the LDCs will be able to prepare project proposals by the end of 2011, for approval and endorse-ment by mid-2012.

Vietnamese people will have the chance to vote for Ha Long Bay as a new World Wonder through a TV programme to be broadcast live on October 29.

The live programme will be concurrently aired on Vietnam Television’s Channel 1 (VTV1) linking four places: Ha Long Bay in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh, the capital city of Hanoi, the former imperial city of Hue in the central region and Ho Chi Minh City.

Famous figures, including pop stars, will vote for the bay and deliver messages calling on audiences to take part in the vote.

Ha Long Bay has been twice recognised as a World Natural Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The programme will help promote the image of the World Heritage site of Ha Long

According to MoCST Minister Hoang Tuan Anh, the voting campaign is entering the final stage. New7Wonders will announce the final results of voting around the world on November 11, 2011.

He quoted New7Wonders as saying Ha Long Bay has received a relatively high number of votes compared to other nominees.

Vietnamese people can vote for Ha Long Bay by logging on www.new7wonders.com and Facebook and using the SMS service.

The voting will be closed at 11.11am (GMT) on November 11, 2011.


Bay and Vietnam as well, said Nguyen Van Tinh, head of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST) at a press briefing in Hanoi on October 19.

News & Views

Ha Long Bay’s World Wonder bid receives a boost

Vietnam HolidaysVietnam Holidays


in Crete, and is constantly looking for the next big adventure…Meanwhile, she's dreaming of publishing her unfin-ished book on the perils of belong-ing to the exciting, eccentric world of advertising.

As a writer and reviewer with Travel To Care, she has explored the palace trail from Jodhpur to Udaipur in Rajasthan, stayed at quaint little homestays in Coorg, and watched glorious sunsets from hideaways along the South Kerala Coast.

Indu grew up in Bangalore, studied Economic Honours, but spent more time writing birthday cards with personalized gags than writing economics assignments. A gold medal in journalism landed her a job at Deccan Herald, but the Chief Reporter politely but firmly suggested she join an ad agency, after seeing her excessive use of exaggeration. A few months later, Indu joined JWT--and never left for 29 years! After heading the Creative Department in Chennai, she recently quit to pursue a passion - travel - particularly because annual leave came around only once a year.Having been brought up on a diet of Mad Magazines since the age of 8, humour and satire reading/writing is a favourite. Indu wrote a light-hearted monthly column “Meanwhile” for the Sunday Express, Chennai, with over 40 pieces published. She is now a

regular writer for The Sunday Hindu and Travel Plus, both being large English dailies in India. She particularly likes anecdotal travel stories. She also contributes to lead-ing advertising magazines - usually on the lighter side of the advertising life.

Indu has bungee-jumped at Bali, white-water rafted in the Ganges, seen the inside of the Pyramid at Egypt, danced like Zorba the Greek

Travel Writer

TRAVEL WRITER of the Month


Property of the month

Intimate, stylishly decorated 5-suite heritage guesthouse

located on a quiet road in the backstreets of Dhaka’s Gulshan

neighbourhood, where most of the foreign embassies and devel-

opment agencies have ...

Ideas Manzil is the brainchild of owner Barry Ison, a long time foreign resident of Bangladesh and indeed, this end of South Asia. Originally born and raised in Darjeeling, Ison has long had a passion for the culture and history of Bengal, and is now one of the few foreign hospitality business owners in Bangladesh, which is probably why the property is so unique.

The Manzil (Arabic term for house) is an intimate heritage guesthouse situated in a quiet corner of Dhaka’s Gulshan neigh-bourhood, where many of the foreign missions and development agencies are based. With five guest rooms, an upstairs roof terrace, a restaurant and handicrafts boutique, Ison is indeed offering every-thing that a responsible traveller could want in a single, accessible package.

The atmosphere of the guesthouse speaks of an old world hospitality not easily found amongst the modern tile-and-concrete hotels and guesthouses of the rest of Gulshan. Corridors are deco-rated with hand-carved Mughal door-ways; Bangladeshi art and photography is displayed prominently around the

Reviewed by Mikey Leung

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Ideas Manzil

property. In essence, Ison has created an experience that could be called true Bangladeshi hospitality.

The guesthouse is best suited for those who are seeking an authentic experi-

ence of Bangladesh and a taste of its old world charms, and so historians, culture vultures and a professional traveller would appreciate this place more than young adventure seekers. It’s a good place to base yourself if you’re a visiting development worker or business person, or are a short-term tourist to Dhaka and want to see how local upper class people live in a supposedly ‘poverty stricken’ country.

Dhaka, Bangladesh


News & Events

International visitor arrivals to the Asia Pacific region increased 6% year-on-year in August 2011, according to the latest data from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). The growth rate marks a slight slowdown compared to the 7% increase seen in July 2011, but South and South-east Asia continued to demonstrate strong double-digit growth.

visitor arrivals into Northeast Asian destinations has been changing in the past few years, with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan gaining at the expense of China and Japan.Arrivals into the Pacific region remained level in August following three consecutive months of contrac-tion, although the key markets of Australia and New Zealand achieved growth of 3% and 5% respectively. The overall result however, was impacted by a 4% decline in visitors to Hawaii.Bill Calderwood, PATA’s interim CEO, said; “International arrivals momentum into the Asia Pacific region continues to hold at a relatively strong rate. Many destinations are performing above that 6% aggregate average.

A few Asia Pacific destinations are facing difficulties with contracting numbers of visitors.” For the first eight months of 2011, South Asia has seen a 14% increase in international visitors, while Southeast Asia experienced a 12% rise. Northeast Asia and the Pacific grew by 4% and 1% respectively.

In August, travel to Southeast Asia grew 15%, up from 11% in July. Thai-land (+35%), Vietnam (+29%), Cambo-dia (+21%), Singapore (+18%) and the Philippines (+11%) all reported stron-ger international arrivals growth in August compared to July. Growth for Myanmar and Indonesia however, was lower than the previous month. South Asia was the second fastest growing sub-region in August 2011. With the exception of India, which saw a 5% increase in arrivals, South Asian nations achieved across-the-board double-digit growth. Arrivals to India remained significant in volume terms however, with the country welcoming an additional 20,000 visitors in August 2011 compared to August 2010. Northeast Asia registered a year-on-year increase in arrivals of 4% during August. This set a new monthly arrivals record for the sub-region, reaching an inbound volume of more than 20 million international visitors in a single month. Nonetheless, China saw a minor drop of 1% and Japan struggled with a 32% decline in international arrivals during the month, as the negative impact of the 11 March disasters continued. PATA noted that the share of international

Asia Pacific visitor arrivals rise again

A S I AA S I AA S I AA S I AA S I A

Awards & Achievements

World Travel Awards Celebrates Succe� � Asian Tourism in BangkokAsia’s role in leading the global travel and tourism recovery has been acknowledged at a gala ceremony hosted by World Travel Awards in Bangkok.VIPs, senior tourism leaders, captains of industry and international media travelled from over 30 nations across the region to attend the WTA Asia & Australasia Ceremony 2011 at Dusit Thani Bangkok.Malaysia Airlines overcame stiff com-petition from Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, Thai Airways and Air China to collect “Asia’s Leading Airline”.Meanwhile India saw off the likes of Bali, Korea and Sri Lanka to win “Asia’s Leading Destination”; while Trident Gurgaon was voted “Asia’s Leading Hotel”.Korean Air was voted “Asia’s Leading Airline First Class” and the new super luxury hotel Oberoi Gurgaon collected “Asia’s Leading Luxury Hotel”.Thailand, which played host to WTA for the first time, enjoyed a large slice of the evening’s honours, reflecting its growing role as a travel and tourism hub of Asia.Home-grown winners included Bang-kok Airways (Asia’s Leading Regional Airline); Six Senses Hideaway, Samui (“Asia’s Leading Honeymoon Resort”); and Bangkok (“Asia’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination”).

It was also an evening of travel triumph for Australasia. Among the big winners were Air New Zealand, which was voted “Australasia’s Leading Airline”,

Bora Bora, French Polynesia named “Australasia’s Leading Destination” and Sheraton on the Park, Sydney, which picked up “Australasia’s Leading Hotel”.The industry’s elit travelled from over 30 countries across Asia and Austral-asia to attend the glittering gala ceremony. The raft of media in atten-dance included CNN, Thailand Tatler, Bangkok Post, National Geographic Traveller and Lonely Planet.

“To become the recipient � a regional World Travel Award is indeed recognition � our staffs dedication to service and � Dusit �ani Bangkok which continues to remain a prefe�ed h�el in Asia” - Al� Willats


World Travel Awards president Graham

Cooke underlined the incredible strength of the region’s travel and tourism economy.He said: “Asia is powering the global travel and tourism recovery, and tonight’s winners represent the very cream of our industry.“The burgeoning middle classes in markets such as India, China and Malaysia are fuelling a surge in intra-Asia travel.“We expect this growth to continue for at least the next decade, making the

Awards & Achievements

future very bright indeed for Asia’s luxury hospitality sector.“Thailand, in particular, is reaping the rewards of the changes sweeping across the region thanks to its culture, amazing beaches and world-class facilities.”The famed Dusit Thani Bangkok played host to the ceremony.For 41 years, the 517-room five-star property has served as a social and business landmark in Thai capital.Alex Willats, acting general manager, Dusit Thani Bangkok, said: “It was a marvellous honour for Dusit Thani to play host to this blue riband event in Asia and the opportunity to showcase our unique Thai hospitality to the

world.The Asia & Australasia Ceremony marks the fourth leg of World Travel Awards 2011 Grand Tour, and follows the legs in Dubai, UAE; Antalya, Turkey; and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; while Montego Bay, Jamaica will play host to the final heat on October 29th.The regional winners will then progress to the Grand Final at the end of the year.


The event partners were Dusit Thani Bangkok, Tourism Authority of Thai-land, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, BBC World News and WeClick-Media, and the media partners included eTurboNews, Breaking Travel News, Trav Talk and Travel Daily News.

For a full list of winners at World Travel Awards 2011 Asia & Australasia Ceremony visit the official website.

World Travel Awards rewards excellence in tourism from across the region

News & Events

Tourism Asia | November 2011 26

Nishorgo Nirob Eco-CottageMeet Mr. Shamsul Hoque. The enterpris-ing villager from Srimongol was one of the fortunate few chosen to open an eco-cottage on his property by the Nishorgo Support Project, a USAID (American aid agency) initiative that was trying to create tourism opportunities in the vicinity of the few forests Bangladesh still has. After receiving training from staff of the Radisson and getting a start up loan to build a nice bathroom and a rustic bamboo cottage, he began receiv-ing guests in early 2008. His first cottage was situated in his backyard lemon grove and overlooked a small stream – a really pleasant place to dip one’s feet (or more) and to watch the sunset.

Today his little village business has been so successful that they’ve already begun expanding. By the time you read this, things will have likely changed. Shamsul built another two cottages already, one made entirely of concrete and another with mixed construction materials, and such was the demand for his accommo-dation in this scenic and hilly part of Bangladesh.

Surrounded by nearby tea fields, the Srimongol area has plenty of eco-friendly tourism potential, to best of which would be cycling or walking around in the tea

gardens. The nearby Lawachara National Park itself is about a 45 minute walk away, where you can try to spot the very rare, very beautiful and much endangered Hoolock Gibbon. By maintaining a locally-produced product and style of hospitality, Shamsul is already capitalising on the eco-tourism potential of his region. The only danger here is that his property becomes irresponsible by virtue of its popularity and his own desire to make more money. There is already a hint of this in that his newest buildings use corrugated tin for the rooftop and concrete foundations, where as his bamboo cottage was built on stilts and uses bamboo throughout except in the bathroom.

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Tourism Asia

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